Jabba_the_gut

I do like it when the postie delivers parcels containing stuff like this: I'm going to leave it in the house for a month or so before I do anything with it but I have a plan.....

I'm sure they'll be plenty of raffle prizes as everyone has had plenty of time to sort through their stuff during lockdown!

@Richard R - Brawley Artemis 4, Brawley Artemis 5, EBS Session60 amp, something to weigh basses with. @Frank Blank - Rob Allen Mouse Fretless, Rob Allen Mouse Fretted, Ibanez SRC6, QSC K12.2, HX Stomp. @Stub Mandrel - Frender Performer, Hohner Jack Custom V, Deathburger (HB kit build), TE 1110 combo? @petecarlton - Mayones Cali4 "Puzzle" Bass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYAvWZGwc4s&t=13s&ab_channel=BassTheWorld.com @Teebs - Erm...dunno What! Isn't my mere presence enough for you peoples!? @SpondonBassed - Jack. (That's not short for Jack all, it's just that I can't decide until nearer the time.) @Machines - Sire M5 / Yamaha RBXJM2 / GenzBenz Neo Pak / EICH112XS @bassmansam - Rickenbacker 4003s, Eppy Thunderbird Vintage Pro and Ashdown ABM 500 2x10 combo @jebroad - Not-fender jazz (maybe), squire silver series jazz, old Kay SC, Dingwall combustion, Ashdown 8x10 (Maybe) @Jabba_the_gut - 27" mini basses, Short scale telebass, whatever else I build by then, TC RS210 combo. Cakes

I’ll be there. Looking forward to it

Just for reference, a Fender type bass neck pocket for a 4 string is typically around 95mm x 64mm (give or take a couple of mm) so using that as a benchmark, you are a fair bit shorter than that at 68mm. Consider also how you are going to bolt the neck on (neck plate of individual ferrules) and how are you going to finish the edges. By that I mean are you going to round over the edges a little or a lot? If you were going for quite round edges (say a 12mm radius) then the line up to where you can put the ferrules or neck plate moves back into the body by that amount so they don't overhang the curve. Then have a look at where the mounting holes would be as you might find them to be quite close together. Hope this makes sense! If it was me, I would extend the pocket into the body by another 20mm or so. This would give more contact between the two, give you more room for mounting screws and also give a bit more fretboard on the body side of the 24th fret - there's a risk at the moment that the bottom left hand corner of the fretboard on your drawing might chip off when you press the fret in (I've done that before!). Cheers Jez

As you say, nice piece of wood but sometimes it works better with a more limited number of colours. A more plain pattern might also work well as there’s a lot happening with the spalted top. Having said that, sometimes it’s hard to tell until you put them next to each other as to whether it will work or not.

Lovely grain on that top. I presume that's walnut?

Bloody fat fingers and small computer keys....!!!

Nice and warm today and time off from work means into the garage!! Got some jobs to do around the house but found time to round over the edges of the Telebass and to drill the recess for the jack socket. I used a Forstner bit to get a nice sharp edge around the socket and a flat bit to shift the bulk. After a quick sand I put a light coat of sealer on the bass and it is starting to look quite nice. I'm pleased I re-did the binding as It has turned out nicely in the end. I've not done binding before so lots of lessons from that - I completely agree with the old saying of learning from your mistakes. All the big stuff is drilled, cut and sanded so should be at a point to do the final sanding and get the finish done. Cheers

If you stick to a bolt on for your first build, if anything goes seriously wrong you only lose a neck or a body not both.

Nice purple! Looks great

Welcome to the the world of building! I’m sure you’ll really enjoy making this bass - it really is satisfying to play something that you made. I like the design - my only comment would be to ensure the neck pocket is long enough. It possibly looks a little short to me from the drawing by the time you curve the top horn to the lower horn (if that makes sense!) but it isn’t always easy to tell when you’re viewing it on a phone!! I stuck a passive Bartolini pickup in a bass recently with a switch for single / series / parallel and you can get a decent range of tones from that. EMG TW pickups are also pretty decent to switch between coils. Make sure you keep posting pictures - look forward to seeing this progress. Cheers

Yes, it was in the east wing which I only use in the summer months..... honest. It’s only a cheap copy that I was given a couple of years ago that has been at the back of a cupboard behind other stuff since we moved. If I’d remembered about it then I would have used it as a template for the short scale Tele bass I’m making rather than have hunted round the web for a plan!!! Doh! Should have the Telebass ready for this bash.

Very nice indeed. The fret board up to the pickup looks like the right choice to me. I bought a pair of the Delano Xtender pickups a while back that I haven’t used yet. There’s something about them being a different shape that gives a build like this a completely different look. And they’re supposed to sound pretty decent too! Looking forward to seeing this build complete. Will you post some sound files when done? Cheers

Traitor (damn - just found a Telecaster in a cupboard that I’d forgotten about so I’ll have to include myself in that statement!)

I think it was well attended with just basses last time without bags of room to spare. You can’t invite the others as they’ll cover the floor with pedals and complain they can’t be heard......

I’m up for this Bash - be nice to catch up with everyone again. @jebroad let us know if you need any contributions for a deposit or hire of the hall. Be nice to get something in the calendar to look forward to. Cheers

I've used the StewMac Fret Calculator for 889mm (35") and 839.102 (33.036"). 33.036" is 35" less the distance to the first fret - just calculated this for both to show that the fret distances are the same on the 35" scale fret 2 onward as it is on the 33.036" scale.

I’ve got a 35” and 34” slotting template and by skipping the first or second frets you can get very close to 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35” scales.

I’ve a feeling using a 35” slotting template and skipping the first fret will give you very near to 33” scale. I’ll have a look later and let you know.

That's a great photo and a great memory. Must have been great to have a bass that was very much different at the time. Do you still have the bass?

I know, poor show isn't it?!! I must try harder.. I've got some more timber on order so things should start happening in the next few weeks.

I'm going to round the edges just a little. As the top is a veneer, I've only got the equivalent of the thickness of the binding for the radius of the edge to make sure I don't sand through it and expose the body wood beneath.

It's been a few weeks since I managed to get on with any bass building but I managed to get back to this one today. When I last put it down, I had fitted the binding but wasn't happy with it. It took a few hours to put it on but minutes to remove it again with the router!! So today I fitted some new binding using several layers of veneer using Titebond rather than superglue. This gave me enough time to get the veneer in the correct position before the glue set. Much happier with the result this time which has given e the incentive to get this finished. The mark on the side is where I've got to drill the hole for the jack socket. I got a nice recessed plate with some parts I bought recently which will look the part on this build. With the weather getting a bit warmer and some welcome time off work on the horizon, I'm hoping to get this complete in the near future. I need to as I've got a few builds stacking up behind this - the 27" 5 string I've already started, 25" 4 string shorty, a 5 string short scale headless and another 4 string semi hollow. It's going to get busy!!